- #1
jdou86
- 34
- 1
- Homework Statement
- GRE
- Relevant Equations
- GRE PHysics
Statistics of radioactive decay
- Thread starter jdou86
- Start date
Click For Summary
Homework Help Overview
The discussion revolves around the statistical analysis of radioactive decay, specifically focusing on calculating the uncertainty in decay rate measurements based on count data over time.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning
Approaches and Questions Raised
- Participants discuss the calculation of uncertainty using the formula involving the square root of counts. There are attempts to articulate strategies for solving the problem, with some questioning the adequacy of their current understanding and calculations.
Discussion Status
Participants are actively engaging with the problem, sharing their calculations and questioning the implications of their results. There is recognition that achieving a lower percentage uncertainty requires a higher count of measurements, indicating a productive exploration of the topic.
Contextual Notes
There are references to specific counts and time intervals, with discussions about the implications of these measurements on uncertainty calculations. Some participants express confusion regarding the relationship between counts and the resulting uncertainty percentages.
- #2
mfb
Mentor
- 37,444
- 14,313
Same as in the other thread, you'll have to show what you did so far.
I extended the title to be more descriptive of the problem statement.
If you have a measurement, e.g. 100 counts in 7 seconds, what will your uncertainty on the rate be?
I extended the title to be more descriptive of the problem statement.
If you have a measurement, e.g. 100 counts in 7 seconds, what will your uncertainty on the rate be?
- #3
jdou86
- 34
- 1
10 since since sigma is sqrt of N so I set sqrtN/N=0.1 but that didn't get me very far
- #4
Vanadium 50
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Education Advisor
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
- 35,014
- 21,714
jdou86 said:
These problems take longer than a second to solve. Why don't you write down your strategy for solving this. In words.
- #5
mfb
Mentor
- 37,444
- 14,313
Well, that is an important step already. An uncertainty of 10 is an uncertainty of 10% here. Too much, you'll need more counts to get to 1%...jdou86 said:
- #6
jdou86
- 34
- 1
I'm good thanksVanadium 50 said:
- #7
jdou86
- 34
- 1
Sorry it's supposed to be 0.01 but it still won't make sense because 10,000 counts represents 1000s measurement.mfb said:
- #8
- #9
mfb
Mentor
- 37,444
- 14,313
10000 counts is correct. You can use the existing measurements to get a rough estimate of the decay rate and use that to get the time you need to accumulate 10000 counts.
Similar threads
- · Replies 1 ·
Undergrad
Q value for a radioactive decay
- · Replies 13 ·
- · Replies 1 ·
- · Replies 21 ·
- · Replies 18 ·
- · Replies 1 ·
High School
Exact cause of radioactive decay?
- · Replies 35 ·
Undergrad
Nuclear Fusion: Radioactive Decay?
- · Replies 7 ·
- · Replies 7 ·